Golgo 13 is a retro-style anime that draws heavily from sniper stories about impossible shots in adverse conditions during the turmoil of the Cold War. If you don't know the manga by Takao Saito (the oldest still in publication, since 1968 and most likely about to conclude soon), the whole vibe of the series will feel wrong to some viewers, as Togo's narrative hasn't changed since the 70's. There is not need of character development, as the series depicts vignettes in the daily life of a professional actually doing his job, and nothing else. The characters around him are either service providers (weaponsmiths, intelligence brokers and prostitutes), clients or victims, and pretty much following the structure of the classic Japanese gangster movies, characters fade in and out, and never cross paths with him again. These 50 episodes are just like the stories depicted in the first 70 numbers of the manga. We don't know anything about Duke Togo (that isn't even his real name), and we never will (other than his code name is an "engrish" word for Golgotha and the number 13 a reference to Judas). He has an asian appearence, but never in the manga is stated as Japanese (he travels with a passport from an unspecified nation), as he speaks fluently russian, german, spanish, french, italian, english, mandarin, afrikaans and portuguese, all of them well enough to pass as a native speaker. I happen to find Golgo 13 quite refreshing, as the "assasination of the week" nature of the show is my kind of thrill (L&O style), and I don't have to worry about what's going on next, as do I know he'll get the job done and collect his 3 million dollars... or else. Suggestion: don't watch the dubbed version, and try to watch before "The Professional: Golgo 13" and the "Queen Bee" OVA, so you can get in to the mood.
One of my favorite 70's mini-series as a kid was Martian Chronicles. I had just finished Ray Bradbury's book back then (1979), and I was "in the zone" the first night that the haunting theme composed by Stanley Myers came out my little TV (as a kid I had a B&W 12" General Electric portable TV that my grandmother gave me as a gift so I could watch series at night while lying on my bed). The story was a huge departure from the book, but I was thrilled, and hugely dissapointed that it was only 3 episodes long. Over the years, I have bought this series several times (Betamax tapes, VHS tapes and the infamous Collector's Edition DVD, and also the soundtrack CD from MGM Music), and today had the chance to enjoy it in 720p, in one sitting. It looks fantastic. The budget was spent in the main cast and locations, and very, very little in visual effects (as usual in most of BBC's fare of the late 70's), and the end result is fairly decent, with only a HUGE, AWFUL, BAD VFX shot in the third episode that even as a kid made me laugh, and a few matte paintings that aren't that good here and there. The sets, props and art design are early 70's top of the line (it was shot in 1978), some of them as good as anything NBC or BBC had on the air back then. The idea was that keep the story and message clear, despite the obvious flaws. The Martian props are just amazing, and I've been looking for Martian Conflict Masks since. As a modern viewer, you'll need to look at this show with you suspension of disbelief mode fully active (the sky is blue, there are clouds everywhere, water canals and more importantly AIR, on Mars), and take the astronautics "science" with it huge grain of salt (that part of the show was crap even then). You have to, in order to enjoy a great cast, a thoughtful narrative and an excellent ending.
Probably the best Netflix series I've seen this year, and the best from Gaumont (I'm glad that they kept the same quality level from Hannibal), again shot in 4K for main photography and 8K for aerial views. From the production standpoint, it proves that José Padilha is one of the best Latin American directors & producers, as he kept most of his Brazilian film production crew, including Pedro Bromfman (his haunting music is excellent for this series). The fact that this series was mostly shot in Colombia (in some of the real locations where Escobar lived), is noteworthy, and the level of realism and fully transparent visual effects by Mr. X (via Technicolor) gives us a whole different sense of the unfolding drama. If you have seen the VFX breakdowns, you'll know that most of the streets and landscapes in this series are CGI-enhaced and extended. We all know already how this story ends in 1993, and despite this fact I'm glued to the screen in every episode. The Spanish dialogues are tweaked in a way that when translated the meaning is slightly different, so I'm pretty much sure that the whole series was written first in English. The whole cast is great, despite not many of them being Colombian (mostly Mexican, actually), and Wagner Moura's performance is spot on (probably an Emmy nomination would come his way soon) despite his very, very heavy Portuguese accent. Some parts I couldn't even figure out what he was saying, even when Spanish is my native tongue, so I kept the English CC active in every episode. Honestly, I can't wait for the second (and most likely the last) season. Their main achievement with Narcos was not glamorizing Escobar or the drug trade, but presenting a compelling, human story that everyone can relate to.
Ira Levin's novel is one of my favourites, and Polanski's film happens to be almost a step-by-step adaptation (he was Oscar-nominated for it), with a marvellous cast. This adaptation directed by Agnieszka Holland (adapted from the film, not the novel itself) isn't half bad. She had at her disposal a great cast also: modelling legend Carole Bouquet (my favorite Bond Girl), the always charming Jason Isaacs (he's 100% fluent in Spanish and he shows us that he can also deliver his lines in French, nicely), the very likeable Patrick J. Adams (in his contractually-mandated Suits haircut) and the lovely Christina Cole (a little bit under-used in her role). However the whole 3 hours lie to rest on Zoe Saldaña's shoulders, who is also producing. Moving the plot to Paris was a good move, albeit a distracting one given the fact that most of the cast is American or British, with a few French extras tossed in the mix. There's nothing in modern-day NY that even resembles the feeling and mood of the 1967 film, so the new setting might be an understandable approach. The locations (very touristic shots of Champs-Élysées, Eiffel Tower, Sorbonne, Le Grand Véfour and The Catacombs) and settings are fresh (all the interior shots were done in London), and the photography feels moody and effective. The fact that Rosemary is now an accomplished ballet dancer that supported her husband through college instead of a naive high-school graduated Omaha housewife, was a nice touch, given the current times. However, the final product feels more at times like an slasher-splatter film, departing drastically from the implied elegance in Polanski's film. This mini-series suffers (in my opinion) from the added scenes (the police commissioner and Julie's scenes are tedious) and plots (so much unnecessary drama) needed to fill-in the allotted 3.2 hours, despite its nicely done editing, music, CGI and practical effects. The supporting characters are underdeveloped in most cases, and Rosemary's nightmares and pregnancy ailments take so much exposition time, that it becomes boring. A well-trimmed 2 hours version in film format might deliver (removing the explicit violence) a better experience, at least for me.
The visual effects by Universal Hartland for the pilot movie and some of the episodes were excellent, however this show recycled so many shots by the end of the first season that I truly knew them by heart as a kid. When Universal Hartland closed its doors in early 1981, the quality of the visual effects went down the drain, in a very noticeable way. This show benefited by Battlestar Galactica's cancellation, as many props, sets, costumes and even some visual effects were taken directly from that show. The Terran ships were designed by Ralph McQuarrie (of Star Wars fame), so even now they look sharp and timeless. It's great to see the grounds of Montreal's Expo 67 standing in for New Chicago, just as well as the Bonaventure Hotel. As for the writing... well, it's a Glen A. Larson show, so it varies from campy to awful. Gil Gerard wanted more serious storytelling instead of an "alien of the week" fare, but Universal and NBC deemed the American public of the 80's not ready for something like that. The second season was (at Universal request, actually) a direct copy of Star Trek: The Original Series, and that abrupt change made the ratings drop so fast the season was cut short after the eleventh episode. The fan base decided to ignore the second season, and actually Season One is the only one available on DVD right now (Season Two is out of print since 2004). My favorite episode is the one featuring Buster Crabbe (as Brigadier Gordon), the original Flash Gordon AND Buck Rogers.
